14.11.2014 Jobbik’s politician becomes mayor of Ózd

The northern Hungarian city Ózd, which made it to the headlines this summer because the local government cut the Rroma from the water supply, is once again a focus of the media. Dávid Janiczak, member of the right-wing nationalist Jobbik party, was elected mayor of the town in the second round. He asserted himself against the alliance of Fidesz and the Christian Democrats, whereby both sides accused each other of election fraud. Janiczak had already been elected during the official municipal elections of October the 12th. As the hitherto reigning mayor Fürjes accused Janiczak of electoral fraud, an accusation confirmed by the court, there was a second ballot: “Janiczak won the October 12 election with a smaller margin, but former mayor Fürjes appealed, arguing that more voting slips were found in the ballot boxes than the number of people who turned up for the vote. The Debrecen appeals court then went on to annul the results of the earlier election. Jobbik party director Gábor Szabó issued a statement following the vote claiming that Janiczak had gained “a historic victory.” But the party also filed a police report alleging that Fidesz-affiliated activists had illegally transported Roma residents to polling stations in an organised fashion.” The municipality Ózd has 35,000 inhabitants, a quarter of them Rroma. After the first ballot of October the 12, Janiczak announced that local Rroma should adapt, or otherwise they would be driven out of the city. The right-wing nationalist Jobbik party has been repeatedly noticed for its anti-Rroma rhetoric (Szécsi 2014).